1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a filter press of the type having a multiplicity of filter plates arranged side by side on a pair of guide rails extending in parallel and which are adapted to be separated one by one or by twos or more so that cakes are removed from filter cloths between each two adjacent plates separated.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Filter presses of the type have an advantage over those of simultaneous plate-opening type in which the filter plates are connected in series so that they can be simultaneously separated from one another in equispaced apart relation. The former type requires less space for installation, and therefore, same space permits arrangement of a greater number of plates, which means larger area available for filtration.
However, most of conventional filter presses of sequential plate-opening type are such that at least a portion of each filter cloth is fixed to the filter plate. A prior-art disclosure which deals with a filter press of such type in which filter cloths on each two adjacent filter plates separated are actuated for movement between the plates to allow discharge of cakes from the cloths as in the case of a simultaneous plate-opening type filter press is Japanese Utility Model Provisional Publication No. 55765 of 1980; and no other disclosure of such nature has been found.
This prior-art system is such that means for moving filter cloths between filter plates separated comprise drive means for chains connected to bars to which the cloths are secured. One disadvantage with this system is that the drive means involve a lot of gears. Another disadvantage is that each time plates are separated, gears have to be shifted for engagement with and disengagement from other gears before they are put in driving operation. Indeed, such drive means are very complicated in construction and require a high degree of mechanical precision. Because of these difficulties said prior-art system has not yet been reduced to practical application.